About Valerie
Valerie Fontenot came to law after an education that combined public health and liberal arts. She earned a B.A. from Tulane University in 2007, followed by an M.P.H. from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in 2009. She completed her legal training at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University, receiving her J.D. in 2013.
She began her legal career in private practice. In 2013 she joined Mickey S. DeLaup, APLC as an associate, where she worked on matters typical of a small firm setting. In 2016 she moved into public service as an Assistant Lawyer General for the Louisiana Department of Justice. That role returned her to state-side legal work and offered exposure to the procedures and responsibilities of government representation. After her stint at the Department of Justice she re-entered private practice, joining Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer, LLC in 2018. A year later she became a partner at Frilot LLC, a position she has held since 2019.
Her resume reflects time in both the public and private sectors. At the Department of Justice she handled state legal matters; in private firms she has participated in client counseling and case development. The progression of roles shows experience in courtroom work, agency interaction and firm-based client representation. She also maintains a professional training credential in legal research, holding LexisNexis Advance Legal Research certification.
Fontenot maintains active professional memberships. She is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association and the New Orleans Bar Association. Those memberships connect her to the statewide bar and the local legal community in New Orleans. They also reflect continuing engagement with bar activities and peer networks.
Since becoming a partner at Frilot LLC in 2019, she has divided her time between firm responsibilities and client work that draws on her earlier public-sector experience. Her practice sits at the intersection of state and private legal matters, and her current practice concentrates on issues that benefit from both governmental and firm-side perspectives.
